No characters (humans and non-humans included) are below the age of consent.
Also, this is one of the more story-focused chapters.
Mini spoiler: in this chapter, there's a character whose abdominal muscles have more than six packs. I just want to clarify that this is actually a thing in real life. It's rare, but not impossible.
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Zara was in a hurry not to be late. She arrived at the park as she used to and began searching for her fellow pupil.
"Hey!" she heard a girl running toward her, "Are you Zara Cromwell?"
"Yes, that's me," Zara nodded.
"Thank goodness," the girl sighed in relief, "I thought I was late and the course already started without me."
"Who are you, by the way? And why do you know who I am?"
"Oh, sorry. I'm Freya Sturm, a pupil of Aritimi, just like you. I heard about you from this other girl called Bambi. She even showed me a picture of you and her. That's how I recognized you."
The first thing Zara noticed about the girl was her beauty. Freya was a strikingly beautiful girl. Her long, ash-blonde hair was braided in intricate patterns. Her sharp blue eyes were set against her fair skin like a pair of blue marbles on white tinsel. She had a lean muscular build with seemingly zero fat. She had nice broad shoulders and a visible set of pronounced abs that were peeking out from her short T-shirt. She was wearing tight training shorts that exposed her calves and highlighted her strong, shapely thighs. Freya seemed more like a professional athlete rather than a warrior.
"It's nice to meet you, Zara. I heard a lot about you," she shook Zara's hand with a needlessly strong grip as if she were trying to dominate her.
"Yeah, it's nice to meet you too, by the way," Zara murmured as her gaze fell back onto the girl's chiseled, perfect physique. With a big surprise, she noticed that Freya's abs weren't only six packs but actually a ten pack.
"Oh, I see you noticed my abs," Freya chuckled and pulled her shirt up slightly, revealing her toned stomach, "It's rare to have something like this. My family's genetics are pretty strong."
"Nice. I heard that some people can have more than six packs, but I never expected to see someone with a condition like that for real," Zara said and instinctively ran her fingers across Freya's abs, feeling the firmness beneath the smooth skin. Freya flinched at first but then chuckled and allowed her to explore, her confidence unwavering.
"Let's see what you got," Freya winked and then pulled up Zara's shirt, exposing her stomach. Her abs, while toned, were not as pronounced and were visibly just six instead of ten packs.
"Hmm, not bad, but you should work out more often if you want more strength with just six packs," Freya examined Zara's abs with some smooth strokes.
"That's not how it works. Just because your abs are segmented into more sections than average, it doesn't mean you have more strength from it. Your muscles just look different," Zara wanted to say but stopped. Not because she didn't want to be impolite but because Freya pulled her pants lower to take a better look at Zara's lower abdomen almost exposing Zara's pussy in the process.
"Not bad overall, but a better workout program would help," Freya murmured.
"Hey! I didn't let you do this," Zara growled, although she liked the touch of the girl's smooth skin on hers.
"You touched me without asking as well," Freya just giggled as she pulled up Zara's pants.
"Ah! I see both of you arrived in time," they heard their mentor's voice from the fountain's direction. Aritimi was sitting on the edge, her long legs swinging gently, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. She had arrived silently and unnoticed, as always.
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The place they arrived in through Aritimi's portal was a big office. There was a big mahogany table, the size of a bed. Papers and books are on all of the shelves. And also a lot of badges, medals, and trophies on the wall. It was clear that they were in someone important's office.
"Nice collection," Freya examined the trophies.
"Where are we?" Zara looked around.
"It's the office of my friend. The Head of Security for both the local branch of the HSA and also for the Crypt."
"The Crypt? You mean the monster prison Crypt?" Freya looked back at Aritimi with wide eyes.
"Yes. We are in the Crypt right now," Aritimi revealed.
"Sorry for being late," they heard a soft girly voice from the door as it opened, "It's a bit slower if you can't open portals," the newcomer chuckled.
"No problems, Julian. We just arrived a few seconds ago," Aritimi shrugged and then turned to the girls, "Pupils, this young man is Julian. The son of my friend, and pretty much her right hand."
Zara was flabbergasted by the word "son" since Julian looked like a girl. Julian had long blonde hair, tied in a cute ponytail, piercing blue eyes, and a figure that could make any female supermodel envious. Julian wore a tight black turtleneck sweater and leather pants, showcasing a figure that was both strong and curvaceous.
"It's nice to meet you, girls," Julian greeted them politely, his voice was very feminine and almost sounded like a little girl's, "My mother is currently in the control room. She only uses the office to keep her stuff there and to meet with her superiors if they come here. For today, I gonna show you the things this unit usually does, but do not worry. We will meet her as well later. She's just preparing."
"Since no fighting will be involved, I will go and check on your mother. I'll pick you guys up once she's ready," Aritimi announced before she disappeared into a portal.
They spent the next few hours with Julian showing them how they do things there. How they build containment units for the monsters. How they transport monsters. What kind of equipment do they use, and things like that.
"Can I have a question?" Freya asked as they were taking a break at the canteen. Zara and Freya were sitting beside each other at the table, with Julian sitting in front of them.
Julian nodded, "Go ahead."
"How does someone as young as you work at a place like this?" Freya questioned, taking a sip of her water, "I mean, not even nepotism can bring you to a place like this since the Council keeps an eye on important facilities like this. I just know, my mother tried to get me a job at the local HQ back in Europe, but none of her connections were enough."
"I've been learning to work here since my childhood. Since Mum doesn't like to move around here too much because of her condition, they needed someone who can be trusted with the less important things she would need to do," Julian replied, "I guess I don't look intimidating enough to not trust in me," he giggled.
"By the way, sorry if I'm indiscreet but why are you looking so..." Freya tried to word it in a not rude way.
"Girly? Unmanly?" Julian finished the sentence, "I have hormone issues."
"Oh, I heard it can happen in the case of some augmentations," Zara nodded, "Although it's rare to see a boy with augmentations since the male test subjects' body tends to not accept them."
"Nice, you almost guessed it but no," Julian shook his head with a smirk, "I indeed one of the rare male members of the HSA whose body didn't reject the augmentations but my augmentations have nothing to do with my feminine appearance."
"Oh, then it must be the Dora syndrome," Zara speculated.
"Bingo!" Julian exclaimed, his cheeks flushing slightly, "You know about Dora syndrome? That's impressive. Most people just assume it's either the augmentations' side effect or I'm just gay."
"I met Serena's adopted daughter, Esmeralda, last week, and she mentioned that Serena's daughters all got this syndrome, but they just inherited their mother's strange hair color," Zara answered.
"What is the Dora syndrome?" Freya inquired.
"It's when the child of a person who was augmented before the child was conceived is affected by their parent's augmentation which ends up causing deformities," Julian explained, "It mostly happens when the mother is the augmented one. My mother got hormone therapy as an augmentation years before I was born, and her augmented hormones messed up my body's development."
"That's interesting. Can be things inherited this way, like powers?" Freya asked.
"Not really. The HSA would be busy mass-breeding augmented people if it were this easy. It's super rare to have something useful from the Dora syndrome. It mostly just affects your appearance. Only a lucky few can have extra powers this way," Julian said, shaking his head.
"And what does it feel like to work for your mother?" Zara asked.
"It's pretty much like doing chores at home, but at least I get paid for it here," he chuckled then suddenly a bright white portal opened near the trio.
"Well, looks like our time has come," Julian looked at the portal, "Follow me, girls."
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Zara recognized the place they arrived at, it was the training room. Aritimi was standing in front of them, but this time, she was already naked.
